Robert Gandy - From 1988 to 1990, Robert worked in Costa Rica as Forest Specialist, Peace Corps/Costa Rica

Robert Gandy specializes in forest regeneration. He has worked with tree seed, tree nurseries and site preparation throughout his career. Currently his activities are concentrated on longleaf seed production and sales, domestic seed sales, aerial direct-seeding in the Southeast, and international tree seed brokerage to Latin America, Europe and Asia. His areas of expertise include: Forest Tree Seed — sales and brokerage, collection & processing, treating, application; Nursery Establishment and Management; Forest Site Preparation and Regeneration; Forest Management; International Forestry Development and Policy; Aerial Applications; Silvicultural Herbicides; Agroforestry; Tropical Reforestation and Watershed Protection; Social Forestry; Forestry Extension and Publications.

Robert earned a bachelor's degree in Forest Management at Auburn University in 1974, and has participated in numerous continuing education courses. He is fluent in written and spoken Spanish. His experience includes work as a Private Forestry Consultant; General Manager – Odenville Site at International Forest Seed Company, Inc., where he was responsible for all aspects of cone processing, cleaning, testing, handling and storage of seed for internal use as well as custom processing contracts. In the nursery, he was responsible for production of 6 million containerized seedlings of various tree species, including custom growing for progeny and other scientific tests.

He also served in Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA) as Reforestation Advisor to Project Raintree, a tropical forest regeneration initiative on the Island of Mindanao, Philippines. He made specific recommendations regarding proper selection, collection, storage and aerial application of tree seed, as well as education of people living in forest buffer zones so they develop sustainable agricultural systems that include micro-forestry enterprises, where practical.

In 1991, Robert served as International Advisor for Tropical Research and Development, Inc., in Honduras. There, he was responsible for providing logistical support and administrative coordination for the Community Forest–Based Enterprise Project, a U.S.A.I.D. –funded effort to assist unemployed and underemployed Hondurans in the La Unión Management Area. He conducted initial assessment of needs and potential of campesinos living in buffer zones around national forest lands, identified sustainable economic activities based on wise use of pine forests, organized groups, formed and coordinated training sessions, and collaborated in report preparation.

Prior to his work in Honduras, Robert served in Panama as Country Representative, Peace Corps/Washington. He was the first in–country representative of the U.S. Peace Corps after a 19-year absence and was responsible for the establishment of the new Panama program, with three areas of emphasis: forestry extension (with focus on conservation and reforestation), agricultural extension and small business development in critical areas surrounding the Panama Canal watershed. Duties included initiating national agency contacts, establishing embassy relations, setting-up offices, assessing the problems/causes of deforestation in the canal watershed, formulating sustainable natural resources policy, defining volunteer training needs, evaluating and assigning volunteer sites, advising volunteers on management and planning of reforestation projects involving tropical species, meeting with rural community leaders, organizing and conducting orientation programs, and coordinating with management in Washington, D.C. and San José, Costa Rica.

From 1988 to 1990, Robert worked in Costa Rica as Forest Specialist, Peace Corps/Costa Rica and Dirección General Forestal (General Forestry Directorate of the Costa Rican government). On the Nicoya Peninsula of Guanacaste Province, he served as Executive Director for a region-wide forestry extension program of the Guanacaste Forestry Association, coordinating extension efforts to landowners involved in reforestation projects, organizing technical field trips and demonstration plots, plus desktop publishing a Spanish-language newsletter and other reforestation/nursery management guides. Also worked on research and promotion of multiple-use tree species under the project known as MADELEÑA, participating in the establishment and maintenance of growth plots and provenance trials and assisting in data collection from these and other areas. He worked closely with county agricultural centers and co–operatives to promote the proper organizational structure to enable rural people to participate in reforestation projects financed through national forestry incentive programs. Advised farmers and small landowners on financial eligibility requirements and benefits of participating in the rotating credit fund used in the incentives program. He participated in policy development sessions regarding the structure of forestry incentive programs and the establishment of a rotating credit fund.

From 1978 to 1988 Robert worked as General Manager/Vice President in the Operations Division of Resource Management Service, Inc. There, his primary responsibilities included: Managing all aspects of the Operations Division, including seed production and sales, promotion and sales of forestry related herbicides, contracting and executing helicopter application services, completing specialized consulting contracts, and negotiating distributor agreements with major herbicide manufacturers; operating major Southern Pine tree seed production facility processing 10,000 to 15,000 bushels of pine cones per year; overseeing collection, processing, testing, storage, sales and application of pine tree seed and developing markets for pine cone by-products through various crafts enterprises; and providing site-specific herbicide prescriptions and helicopter applications. He also completed direct-seeding contracts on approximately 3,000 acres per year and actively participated in various committees dealing with the concerns of Private Non-Industrial Forest owners in the Southeastern United States. In an international capacity, Robert advised the company on technical and business aspects of cone processing and seed handling at extraction plant in Olanchito, Yoro, Honduras. He organized teams to make general and selected–tree collections of Pinus caribaea seed.

Robert served in Honduras from 1975 to 1977 as Forest Management Specialist, Peace Corps/Honduras and the Honduran Corporation for Forestry Development (COHDEFOR). He worked in the areas of: Pine resination, helping the social forestry program of COHDEFOR to provide technical and administrative assistance to resin cooperatives; forest protection, serving as district Chief of Forest Protection in La Mosquitia, supervising three 10-man crews and overseeing the construction of fire towers; and Nursery/Plantation establishment, developing a bare-root pine seedling nursery and the establishing of pine plantations in La Mosquitia.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND AWARDS

Registered forester in Alabama and Mississippi. Certified Commercial Aerial Applicator in Alabama, Certified Commercial Seed Treater in Alabama, Member Society of American Foresters, International Society of Tropical Foresters, Alabama Forestry Association, National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. 1990 Recipient of John F. Kennedy Peace Corps Award for the Inter America Region.

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Story Source: Personal Web Site

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